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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

It is time for us to begin seeking a deeper and deeper relationship with our LORD. It is time for us to truly begin to know Him for who He is and begin to truly make that who we are. It is time for us to move into a more personal and more intimate relationship with the Creator of all - the only True and Living God.

How do we begin to do this? By starting to seek true holiness in our lives. We need to be unsatisfied in our spiritual walks. Unsatisfied to the point that it causes us to begin to dig deeper into His Word. To begin to search farther than we ever have before. Searching daily for a fresh revelation in His Word. Looking for nuggets of TRUTH that will feed our spirits.

The bible tells us in 1 Timothy 4 that we have to be nourished in the Word. That means we have to be feeding ourselves the precious scriptures. We have to be feasting on the God-breathed Word of God and allowing it to seep deep within our bones and settle. Planting it and watering it and allowing it to grow.

We have to open our ears to hear the Word spoken and then hide it within our hearts so it can begin to do a good work. We can't just hear and do nothing with it, we must take it and apply it to our lives so it can begin to change us into who He desires for us to be. We have to live out the TRUTH! Ponder on it and study it and allow the Holy Spirit to put it to work in us. Striving to be Holy as our God is Holy.

Holiness is not about following rules - it is about following Christ. It's about walking in the footsteps of the Holy. It's about obeying what His Word tells us to do. It's about knowing what Christ expects of us by reading the bible. He tells us clearly in the written Word how we are to behave if we are His children.

The more we allow Christ to dwell in our hearts and teach us and grow us, the more we realize just how far we have to go. The more we learn, the more we realize there is to learn. The more we seek, the more there is to seek. The closer we draw to our Lord, the farther away we realize we were. God takes us from strength to strength, teaching us along the way and helping us to grow step-by-step into who He saved us to be.

What does it mean to be Holy? To be spiritually pure. To be filled with TRUTH. To be devoted to the service of God. To be godly and devout in our behavior. To be like Him.

Holiness is about searching our hearts and confronting the impurities found within. It's about recognizing the things inside of us that don't bring glory and honor to Christ. It's about seeing the things that go against TRUTH and determining to turn them into TRUTH.

"Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may

stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a

pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and

has not sworn deceitfully."

(Psalm 24:3-4)

If there is deceit in our hearts, we can't find God. If there are lies where there should be TRUTH, we can't find God. How can we serve Him if our soul is unclean? It is time to walk through the furnace of TRUTH and allow the things that are lies and falsehoods to be burned away. To abide in the Holy place of Christ requires that we be honest and TRUTHful. TRUTHfulness leads to Holiness every time.

May we have a zeal for TRUTH as we pursue a life of Holiness in Christ! As we search God's heart, we will find TRUTH and in the process we will find our own hearts as well. As we find Him, we discover ourselves. We begin to see our hearts in the light of His heart and TRUTH is revealed. No condemnation, but a chance to confess and repent so we can be cleansed and forgiven. And then we will be delivered from the power of sin and deception.

As we begin striving for TRUTH, the striving for Holiness follows. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and reveal our sinful nature and less than truthful ways. Allow His TRUTH to penetrate us so we can begin making the necessary changes in our lives and in our hearts and in our spirits to truly pursue a life of Holiness. He is worthy.

Monday, September 9, 2013

The Christian life is a daily struggle. Or I should say, if you are truly attempting to live a Christian life, it is... There are many that are just playing the game of Christianity and they are sailing through life seemingly fine on the surface with no evidence of struggle.

But the truth is, those who are trying to live a life of godliness and holiness will face struggles on their journey. Our flesh rebels against the holy. Our flesh rebels against righteousness. Natural man does not desire the things of the Spirit. But, when we have Christ abiding in our hearts, we can overcome that rebellious spirit by the power of the One who lives in us! We can crucify that old flesh and truly desire a life of holiness. We can daily deny our self and strive for righteous living. But it is only possible with Christ. And it will take a daily walking in the Spirit. In His Spirit.

A. W. Tozer says this, "Any belief that does not command the daily walk of the one who holds it, is not a real belief."

When we face these struggles, it is flesh warring with spirit. We must be well grounded in our faith if we are going to be able to stand against the enemy! We must be keeping ourselves deep in the Word of God if we are going to have any chance in this world. It requires a daily walking in the Lord! It requires digging deep into the precious scriptures so we can truly know our God! Read the Word. Study His Word. Hide it in your heart so you can truly know it!

Too many times, there is an inconsistency in our words and our lives. We say we love God, but we fail in obedience. We say we are His children, but we don't love others. We are harboring secret sins, bad attitudes, ungodly habits and character flaws.

We know that God desires for us to leave all those behind but we just keep dragging them with us! We have them chained to our leg just in case we need them along the way. But if we are to live a victorious life in Christ, it is time to let go of those things that are holding us captive and walk in freedom! Freedom in the One who died to give us that freedom. Freedom in Christ!

Do you love Him? Do what He says. Keep His commandments. Obey His Word. Strive to be holy as He is holy. Study to show yourself approved in Him.

It won't be easy. The second you purpose in your heart to live for Christ that day, the enemy will rise up against you. But if you carry His Word in your heart, you are armed with the offensive weapon necessary to defeat the enemy and stop him in his tracks. There is power in the Word of God. Know His Word. Memorize it. Study it. Guard it. And carry it with you always. It won't keep you from having struggles, but it will keep those struggles from having you....